


Stolen Kisses

by Setheneran



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Awkward Cullen, Circle of Magi, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Kisses, Mages and Templars, Romance, Secret Relationship, Some Cullen POV
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-05-30 11:02:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6421222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Setheneran/pseuds/Setheneran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The relationship between Templar Cullen Rutherford and circle mage Surana told through seven kisses and special moments.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tempest

Absolutely everything about this wrong. Every nerve in his body was burning bright with such a sweet anxiety as he waited. Whispered promises in his ear that made his knees weak had brought him to this midnight spot. With painful heartbeats and splintered fingernails scraping against the back of his neck he waited for her. 

He had been undeniably infatuated with her for months. A month of her name teasingly perched on the tip of his tongue as he was shocked out of a dream. A month of fleeting glances exchanged that made him sweat and all intelligent thought leave him. A month of reminding himself that she could never be his and yet… he was already hers. 

His trepidation did not brew and bubble mercilessly from the fact that she was a mage or even that she was an elf. It was that desiring her so fiercely made him feel like a predator. Making a move would be overstepping his bounds as a guardian and how could he ever truly know that he was not taking advantage of his position?

As she floated through the door all his stuttered excuses were torn from his lips. He had never wanted anything more than this little elf.

Despite her petite frame she was all soft curves. Maker, she was just so luscious and she would fit so perfectly in his embrace. His heart felt heavy as it thudded in the cavity of his chest. For a moment he worried it would burst out and flop on the floor between them. 

Eyes rested on each other and raw emotions burned on their faces no longer chased away by a crowd. 

They were balancing on the precipice. One feather light touch was all that it would take to have him plunging down head first into the depths and washed away out to the sea that was her eyes. With her looking at him like that with lips between teeth and quivering fingers he would dive happily down. Breaths came out hot and loud and his body was aflame. Every part of his being reached up and out to her and waited in agony for the moment of contact. 

His body lunged forward before his mind could form a counter argument. He possessed her lips causing her to still and then the bonfire heat he was creating burst her back to life. Boots clanked awkwardly backwards as he ducked his head separating them suddenly. Cullen chuckled raggedly to fill up the air with anything but the knot of emotions that was tightening from his chest to hers. 

“I-uh…” He choked out. 

Lips flared out in a smile as she grasped him back to her with surprising force for a kiss that rivaled the passion of the last. 

This time he sighed deeply into it; his release. 

Kissing her felt like mornings at home, like the first ecstatic buzz after lyrium splashed blue against his lips sending ways of euphoria throughout his whole body. Surana felt his slight smile as he gave into her and she traced her tongue against the happy line of it to finish the kiss headily. 

Lips parted and foreheads dipped together as their secret laughter mingled in the tight space between them. 

His hand came up to cup her cheek. A stray finger roamed out to stroke out the line of her pointed ear making her shiver ever so slightly. Suddenly he became embarrassingly aware of the harshness of his calloused fingers against her soft flesh but, she leaned into his caress with a contented hum. 

“Cullen, I have been waiting for that for Gods know how long.” Grasping his hand she kissed each one of his fingertips tenderly reassuring him.  
He did not know how on earth this would last but staring over her, into her, he knew nothing had every felt right and so worth every sacrifice.


	2. Winter's Grasp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shameless 'warm me up' trope.

Shivers tore through her body. Jowan was usually such a lousy shot so she had not bothered to imbue her arcane shield with her full strength. Now winter raged inside her chest. Elgar’nan, she was going to plant a walking bomb inside that boy one day if he was not careful. Snow piled up in her lungs as quivering aches in her body faded away to numbness. 

The garden in the middle of the tower was primarily used to grow herbs for poultices and was the only area in the castle where your skin could sigh happily under the barest whisper of sunlight. Eyes tilted up to glare at a cloud that had dared to shelter the sun.  
She waited impatiently for her mana to restore so she could sustain a fire spell to breathe life back in to her frozen bones. At least if she turned into an ice sculpture she would not melt out here in the shade. 

The one thing she hated more than anything was asking for help. A caged bird at least had the right to peck at the hand of her captors. That is how she ended up completely alone and shivering under the faintest joke of sunlight despite protests by a concerned Jowan and Anders as she hastily retreated. 

The harsh sound of metal on stone and the creaking of the old wooden door plucked her out of a fading daydream. Eyes snapped open and a warning burbled up through her throat only to die on her lips. 

“Maker’s breath, what happened to you?!” He sunk down to his knees beside her his eyes grazing over her expertly for cuts and contusions. 

A laugh ran ragged out of pale lips as she chattered out, “Rogue winter’s grasp.”

Tearing off his gauntlets he rubbed his hands together. Without thinking he sidled his back up against the stone wall, awkward in his armour, and drew her gingerly into his lap. Hands began to run vigorously over her arms teasing out new goose bumps as well as dispelling the old with his warmth. 

This was not exactly what she imagined she would be doing in his lap.

She watched the door closely anxiety making her heart pump warm blood. Stretching out her fingers as feeling returned she allowed her eyes to droop ever so slightly. Warmth was more important than repercussions right now.

"Thank the Maker, my rotation brought me out here." He whispered mostly to himself causing her lips to lilt. Warmth was at least returning to her cheeks.

Leaning back against him she felt little but hard metal but his chin bristled against the back of her hair causing much more pleasant shivers to buzz through her.

Gods, she thought as she gradually continued to warm up, this just felt so safe and tender. Everything in the tower was all chilling stone and held breaths. She had forgotten what true affection felt like. It warmed her blood but the memories of what she had lost left a soft ache in her chest. 

A happy little moan escaped her lips and her fingers twitched as she wished she could catch it and send back down her throat where it belonged. A hot chuckle breezed through her hair. 

“Better?” She felt his lips move on the back of her scalp where he punctuated his word with a secret soft kiss.

She swiveled around so they were facing each other and for a moment they forgot they were Templar and Mage and instead were just two afternoon lovers stealing a moment in the cool grass. 

“You are better than the sun.”

Cullen’s lips quirked and he leaned in causing her heart to bubble up and seize as his lips left a whisper of a kiss on the tip of her nose. He smelt fresh, light and yet so deliciously masculine. The kiss melted what little ice was left there. Hands came up to brush snowflakes from her waterfall hair and his thumb traced circles on her cheek. Eyes held each other as each tormented themselves with tantalizing ‘what ifs’. Eventually Cullen cleared his throat as they disentangled with wistful smiles. Regretfully they sneaked back into the tower and went their separate ways down the hall with weighted backwards glances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my head this Surana was a Dalish elf stolen from her clan at a young age (hence the elven lore references).


	3. Rejuvinate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cullen comes up with a plan to make Surana smile again.

Cullen did not like the way that Anders guy was looking at Surana. Not at all.

Worse still was his hand on her arm as he comforted the paling elf. She was all furrowed brows and stumbling lips but her circle mage mask was still pulled taut against her skin. 

He doubted anyone else would notice her discomfort and yet it was painfully obvious to him. When had he become so attune with her? He was probably doomed from the day she wandered thoughtlessly into his field of vision.

Throughout his shifts his eyes followed her incessantly. His breath hitched as she brushed passed him through corridors. Her dancing hands would flirt against his knuckles for the briefest moment. The ghost of their petal like touch lingered for hours after, keeping his heart light and his lips in a losing battle with a goofy smile. 

His own discomfort, however, was exuding unabashedly from his eyes, from the sweat that began to pool uncomfortably on his forehead and from his lips stretched in effort. He was almost certain the Knight Commander would be upon him sword drawn at any moment with a reprimand and a swift kick out the door.

Fingers clenched and the breath he held was turning him red. It took all his willpower to not go over there and grasp her delicate hands and banish her worries. To let her spiky thoughts steam out of her mouth into the air and there he would evaporate them with sweet words and sweeter kisses.

In that moment he was so overwhelming jealous of the younger man that he felt like he was going to be crushed into a pulpy mass by the sheer weight of it. An unprecedented anger was fed with every gentle stroke on the elf’s back. Anders could be there for her where as Cullen was stuck on the wall watching over a group of scared kids pour of heavy tomes that could crush a giant spider. 

Involuntarily his feet took a step forward causing his armour to clunk loudly. Wincing he looked up and found Surana’s fraying eyes greeting him. A small smile floated across her mouth like the beating off butterfly wings before it took flight and disappeared. If only he could grasp it from where it faded in the sky and return it to her lips where it belonged. 

Cullen stood with his lips parted and his brows scrunching together at the bridge of his nose. There were at least thirty mages in the library and two other templars. One of his brothers grimaced at him quizzically forcing him to take a step back and return to the wall. His feet felt as though they were made of the same stone as the floor below. 

***  
Surana kept her eyes on her troubled Templar and tried desperately not to let her squiggly feelings bubble up from her stomach and out her mouth and eyes in strangled cries and wet slices. Anders helped fight it back down with soft shushes and understanding. One of her friends had elected to be made tranquil that morning. Fear had vanquished her dreams. Memories lingered but everything that had made her alive was gone. She had been scooped out all for the ‘benefit of society’. Surana grieved for the loss a friend that stood just a storey below. Worry clawed into her stomach to accompany the swirl of grief in her chest. Her harrowing would be any day now and that thought drove her back to her teetering stack of tomes. Watched carefully by the amber eyes of the two men she renewed her focus but felt a little part of her chip off and curl up the cold stone ground. 

***  
Well that was that then. Cullen was going to make it his main quest tonight to make his elf smile. 

***  
Cullen was absolutely not supposed to do this. 

His calloused hand grasped the door knob firmly as he chewed the raw inside of his cheek. Maker, forgive me.

Flinging it open he did a quick sweep of the grounds outside. It was 2am and the moon hung swollen in the sky greeting the lake brightly. Clouds lazily darkened its edges, threatening to consume it. Taking in the smell of the earth, water and pure life into his lungs he made his decision and returned inside. Inside the air was stale and anxiety whispered to him as he made his way to the supply cupboard he had asked Surana to meet him in. 

Inside she waited for him fretting with the worn sleeve of her blue and gold robes. Everything that had been winding up within him in a tight coil since they had last managed to steal a moment together threatened to burst out and have him lunging for her. Restraining himself he instead gently took her hand and kissed it once. Softly like she deserved. 

“Please come with me, my lo-… Surana, I,” Oh sweet maker he was making a fool of himself as per usual, “that it is uh,” he smiled awkwardly, “I have a surprise.” She smiled up at him with brewing excitement and kept a hold of his hand. The blush on his cheek cooled from hot and sweaty to warm and giddy. 

“Lead the way.”

He had planned it so they could sneak to the side door fairly easily. It was hidden in the back of a dusty store house of decaying armour and burnt robes. 

He heard her breath catch as he revealed the door to her. Eyes held a hopeful question that caused his heart to beat erratically. In answer he swung the door open. Leading her out the door and into the night he surreptitiously plucked a small bag from a barrel and kept it out of view.

Nature was where she belonged. The tower was a cage for this wild creature and he relished being the one to free her, if only briefly. She unfurled her wings and kicked of her shoes. She was so much more beautiful among the stars and grass that it hurt. He could not help to smile and reflect on how he had managed to be so lucky. 

Grinning he led her dancing frame to a small secluded grove where he drew her down next to him with a happy little sigh. The lake lapped gently causing his heart to slow and his muscles to unwind. 

Heat burst through his body from the hot epicenters of her fingertips on his arm. He kissed her once with the moon ghosting across the jewel like shine of her lips. Soft and slow with the richness of earth around them and light hands over skin causing pleasant shivers. He parted from her with a smile and brought the bag out in front them. Her eyebrow quirked up questioningly and he plunged a hand into the bag and wiggled his eyebrows at her in response causing her to giggle. Drawing his hand out he gingerly gave her the contents. 

“Oh Creators is this what I think it is?” Her words were reverent and she looked more like she held a miracle in her hand and not a fruit pastry.  
She ate it slow, the juice of the berries staining her lips as she savoured every last bite. Cullen chuckled lowly as he nibbled on his own.

“I cannot remember the last time they let us have one of these. Let me tell you a diet of apples, bread and porridge leaves the soul malnourished.”  
They sat like that for a while staring out across the lake in a cosy silence that enveloped the pair in a warm glow as they finished the last of the stolen pastries. 

The horizon caused an itch to form within Surana and she tried desperately not to scratch it. Even if she could commandeer a boat, true freedom was impossible with her phylactery leash tight against her neck. She shrugged the niggling thoughts off forcibly. He was giving her a taste of life and all though it teased her, she was not going to waste their precious seconds on impossible desires. 

“I want to try something.” Her words were shy as she turned to him. Whispered words were almost harsh against the quiet.  
“Anything.” He surprised himself with his conviction but, he knew it was painfully true.  
Hands tentatively reached for him, “Just breathe and let me know if you need to run back to the tower.”  
“I don't think the blight itself could keep me anywhere but here right now.” He responded.

Fingertips ghosted over his exposed forearm and a soothing heat crackled from them. Cullen inhaled sharply causing her to look up at him searchingly. He let the breath go and opened himself up to her despite his sharpening nerves.

Her fingers skirted higher bringing the soft heat with them. Up his neck they danced until they drew a line across his lips as she sank further into him. She bumped his nose with hers with a light laugh and their breath intermingled. Cullen was sure she could hear his thudding heartbeat in the quiet of the night. As their lips met a gentle jolt shot through him causing him to moan. Electricity made of silk ribbons nipped at him where their lips joined and from there it traveled out in growing pleasurable waves within him. He grasped her hips and ground her into him causing a breath to burst from her and down into his throat. 

His initial fear faded with each gentle spark. The heat, however, welled up in awkward parts of him almost causing him to break off the kiss with a muttered apology. However, Surana only writhed against him harder in response. He groaned gravelly and deep and savoured the taste of her tongue on his.

Eventually they parted with ragged breaths and eyes as hot as flame. Cullen made himself back off and closed his eyes to control his breathing. When he opened them again Surana was looking at him softly with the merest hint of regret. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently. Sighing happily she stretched to dip her toes in the lake enjoying their cold bite. She could use the cooling down. 

Her eyes wandered over to her Templar who was eying the moon carefully. Nuzzling into his neck causing him to chuckle she let out a long breath and wished this moment could last forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never realized how corny as hell I can be until I started writing this fic. Maker preserve me. I hope you liked this.


	4. Vulnerability Hex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a bit serious (slightly more mature content ahead)...

Surana paced as she tried to catch up to her thoughts that raced on a thousand leagues ahead of her. Wynne was away fighting the beginnings of what was whispered to be a blight so she had hijacked her private bedroom on a nausea stirring whim.

She drew the soft linen between her fingers and stared at the empty bed as her anxiety sparked anew. It has seemed like a good idea at the time. Dangerous but too tempting to dismiss. Fingernails bit into her arm and her teeth imprisoned the tip of her tongue. What if he did not come? Punctuating her thought was the careful creak of the door. 

Cullen quickly hopped in the room and pressed it closed with his back to her. He took a step into the bedroom with a question floating across his lips that suddenly took flight and left him when his eyes fixed on the bed. A hot blush splashed across his face and ears as he cleared his throat violently. 

“Just, uh, don’t say anything for a moment.” She spread her hands out to him in a calming gesture before resuming her pacing to expend the fierce energy that burned inside of her. 

“I care for you,” she breathed raggedly, “I don’t really know what I am to you but to me you… you are the only wonderful thing in whatever semblance life I have here. You make me feel like a person…” she risked eye contact for a moment and found him lips parted, hands twitching and his eyes appeared almost swollen. Surana stopped pacing and took a question of a step forward.  
She managed to continue, “I don’t know when my harrowing will be, soon I imagine. When I look into my future all I see is locked doors but I... I also see you.” With another questioning step forward she reached out a vulnerable hand attempting to build a bridge between them. Her heartbeat filled her ears and her mouth felt arid. Several painful heartbeats passed in silence. Gods, could he just say something. Anything.

His hand suddenly came out to meet hers and he brushed his lips against it with his gaze steady on hers. Gently he pulled her into him. She felt soft and fragile like a plucked flower. Her breath came out light but sunk into him heavily. He brought his mouth to her ear and whispered his words sweetly flowing into her, “You mean more to me that you know, than is allowed. You are worth it, however. All the sacrifices, the secrets… You are intelligent, beautiful, talented and you deserve so much more than I can give you, than the world has given you. I care for you so much.” His throat seized and her hands tightened around his waist. He drew back, his lips ghosting across the curve of her ear. 

Eyes smiled cautiously and a tender kiss was shared that spoke more than words. Surana edged back towards the bed.  
“Are you sure?” Cullen asked with their noses brushing up against each other drawing in each others tantalizing scent.  
She kissed him once, “I want you, Cullen.”  
She pulled him down on to the bed where they perched tentatively suddenly painfully shy.  
“I’ve never uh-,” he told the wall with a choked chuckle.  
Taking his chin gently in her hand she tugged him back, “Neither have I.” Her lips made a shy but reassuring shape as she ever so slowly leaned in for a kiss as soft as clouds. 

Heartbeats quickened, hands curved around waists as fingernails dug in and the kiss deepened. Tongues flirted across lips begging entry. A hot bubble expanded through Surana with molten edges. Breath was hard to come by as Cullen was stealing it hungrily. Moans were gentle as he pushed waves of hair off her face sinking in to their depths as he drew her impossibly closer. It was not close enough.

A groan pushed itself out shamelessly from deep within a hidden place of Cullen as he carefully swung her down on her back. The heat they were creating was almost too much to bear. It crackled from their chests and the tips of the flames rose up and down to dance with each other. Surana pushed herself up into him causing Cullen to swear lightly under his breath. Instinctively he ground down against her eliciting a gasp from the pleasurable waves he was creating. She left whispers of bite marks on his throbbing neck as he continued.

He was shy again for a moment as he slipped off his shirt but she wanted to continue. Beneath the fabric was taut muscles that had been built to slay mages not love them but, Cullen thought they were due a career change. Surana felt safe, warm and more excited than she had ever thought possible. Her heart was not used to such a workout. She pulled off her own robe so Cullen would not um and er over it for hours. He just watched her for a moment with a pure smile tracing across his lips. She was absolutely lovely. He swooped down and kissed her ferociously as they both let go and plunged into their deepest desires without a backwards glance.

Surana felt a fierce white hot pain that burned away to a pleasure that tore apart her insides in a more careful rage. Cullen mended the pain with sweet words, gentle kisses and new waves of crackling tingles. Inhibited moans swam in the small room followed by an aching release leading to a wild blossoming of a more content heat that embraced them both. It was all soft, sweet and awkward but peppered with a generous dose of need and want. It felt good, it felt right and they nestled together with a soft happiness buzzing from their being when it was all over.

“You are-” She trailed off nuzzling into his slick heaving chest.  
“That was-’’ He began.  
She was his now more than ever and he would be damned if he would let this place kill or corrupt her. Maker help him, he was going to protect Surana no matter what. Strong arms tightened around her smaller frame. Not that she could not handle herself.  
They laughed together and enjoyed the ebbing of the fire. When she wriggled up to look at him he whispered to her and his heart braced for impact, “I love you.”  
Melting she kissed him softly and let her hand come up to cup his cheek hoping her tender feelings could flow into him from her fingers, “I love you too.” 

A smile sent him even higher as he sighed happily and held her close breathing in their combined scent. He grasped her as though this naked embrace could keep her safe and guard her from Templar and demon alike. 

In these past months both had felt like they were truly living for once.

Suddenly Surana rolled over to straddle him with a wicked grin he did not know she had in her arsenal, “You know, I’ve heard this only gets better each time.” She cocked an eyebrow suggestively to match the curve of her lips  
“Well I am nothing if not a dedicated soldier. Where would I be without long dedicated hours of practice?”

Grinning she kissed him hard and the night drew blissfully on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to expand this work to 7 chapters. I have a strong idea for each and I think this will enable the story to have a better ending.  
> Also, I had a bit of a hard time skirting the line between too fluffy and too smutty (as I wanted to avoid excessive smut in this) so I hope it turned out all right.  
> I apologize for any typos I will go over this again but being overtired has not improved my grammar.


End file.
